One is at Main and Jefferson near Metro headquarters and the Downtown Transit Center boarding platform. Light rail trains have collided with other vehicles there four times, and there have been 15 such collisions in the three blocks around the site.

Jesse Villarreal, 46, of South Houston, was killed at the intersection May 10 when, investigators said, his pickup ran a red light before colliding with the train.

The other location is at Fannin and Dryden in the Texas Medical Center, where the trains share a left-turn lane with motorists, leading to 12 car-train collisions.

Metro spokeswoman Raequel Roberts said the flashers at the two sites are a pilot project, and if shown to reduce collisions they may be used at other locations. Metro has reported 132 light rail accidents since test runs began in late 2003.

West Bellfort plans

Doug Westphal asks if there are any plans to connect West Bellfort in Houston to West Bellfort in Fort Bend County. "It sure would aid east-to-west traffic to Highway 6 and on," he said.

That question rang a bell. Last September, Inez Huntsman had asked whether a nearby segment of Eldridge Parkway between West Bellfort and Bissonnet would ever be widened from two to four lanes.

At the time, Steve Evans, engineer for Fort Bend County Precinct 3, replied that Eldridge wouldn't be widened, but that relief was coming — part of it in the form of widening West Bellfort all the way to Texas 6.

Last week, Evans said West Bellfort has been completed as a four-lane thoroughfare from Texas 6 to Burney Road, and a contract was awarded recently to complete the link from Burney to Eldridge.

The project is expected to start in May or June and take six to eight months, he said.

Frostwood sign restored

"Was there something inherent about the construction at Interstate 10 and Gessner that required the removal of the street sign at I-10 and Frostwood?" asks Jim Cargle.

"It really needs to be there. Frostwood is almost impossible to find without it," he said.

Removing the sign was not part of the Katy Freeway widening project, said Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Janelle Gbur. The sign's foundation was still in the ground, she said. Maybe a car or a construction truck hit it.

In any case, the sign was replaced shortly after Houston Public Works was notified last week, said department spokesman Wes Johnson. Complimented on the quick action, he responded: "This is not our first rodeo."